Jailbird
by Daddy Elric
Summary: [Oneshot][RoyEd]Edward finds the ghost of a man who was once his commander, weakened and imprisoned. Edward takes it upon himself to get Roy released.


The result of attempting to stay up all night, reading emo fics, and talking to Taisa. xD Somehow We came up with this. Rose helped too. xD

**Pairing**: RoyEd

**Disclaimer**: Don't own it! Song is "Missing" by Evanescence.

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**JAILBIRD**

This... was this really... him? The man he'd loved, slept with... How had this happened? His face was pallid, clammy... he was obviously underfed. Or had he been starving himself? After all that'd happened, Roy Mustang had better not succumb to depression.

But... could he not control it? Was it that bad? _He'd _never been in jail, that was certain. But he could see... The way the darkhaired man's once-glossy hair was now dull and greasy; how his eyes, strong and passionate just a year prior, were dead and soulless... Prison had eaten away at his soul.

/Please, please forgive me/

The dull grey of the cotton uniform did nothing for his complexion either. It simply made his ghost-white face take on a sheen of... blue? Or green? Whatever the tint, Roy looked horrible. And... what was he here for?

Right.

His fault...

All his.

If he hadn't loved the former colonel... If he hadn't become involved... Roy wouldn't be here, shackled and deadened, waiting for the guards to end his miserable time. He wouldn't be the man sitting before him, cheekbones much too prominent and eyes looking much too big for his face... He wouldn't be the quiet, lonely person he'd become. If he hadn't... set off that horrible chain of events.

/But I won't be home again/

He recalled it in perfect detail... He and Roy had been sitting snuggling in the office while everyone was out to lunch. Thinking they had time, the pair did what they did best, only to be walked in on by a nervous cadet and being discovered. Roy had been dragged off then, accused of rape, and he hadn't seen him for a full year... Until now, after finally locating him. The man had been right under his nose the whole time... How had he not seen it? He felt horrible for not realizing it. But now.. he was able to... touch him again. To inhale that wonderful scent... One of flames, cotton, a cologne he couldn't name... But not anymore. Roy didn't possess that anymore. Only the cotton remained, and that was tainted with the scent of blood and dirt. He could barely believe this was the same man... But in time, if he was ever released, or if he himself resorted to breaking Mustang out... He'd be normal again. He believed it, just as much as he believed in equivalent exchange and didn't believe that God existed.

/Maybe someday you'll look up/

And... as the guard opened the door slowly, giving him a worried look, Edward Elric looked down at the man who had once been his pillar of strength, and broke down. Or, at least, was about to. But he looked at Roy for a moment, and shook his head, kneeling before him. "T...Taisa..?"

No response. Perhaps...

"Mustang?"

Still.. nothing.

Edward sighed, leaning toward him somewhat. "Roy..?'

The man's eyes turned upwards, and he stared at the golden boy in front of him in wonder. "You...?" he asked slowly, as if he wasn't quite sure his eyes were telling the truth. Maybe he was thinking he was hallucinating. Edward couldn't be sure. But that vacant look was soon replaced with one of recognition. "Edward?"

/And barely conscious, you'll say to no one.../

The blonde nodded, taking one of the darkhaired man's thin hands in his. "Yeah. It's me," he mumbled. He wanted to ask if the man was alright, but it was obvious that he wasn't. "How.. how long have you been here?" he asked finally.

Roy shook his head. "I... I don't know," he admitted. His voice was thick. Hadn't the guard said something about anesthesics..? "I don't even know what day I was put in here anymore."

Edward gave a small sob, but held it back. How could he not have... realized it? Gotten him out of there? He felt incredibly guilty. Of course, it wasn't actually his fault, but Edward still wanted to take the blame. Needed to take the blame. He couldn't bear to have someone else do it. "I'm... I'm going to get you out," he informed the man.

Roy stared for a moment. "...Why...?" he asked slowly. "I'm... I'm supposed to.."

Edward shook his head furiously. "No," he snapped. "You're not supposed to do anything. Nothing but keep alive, and when I get a chance I'm going to get you out. I bet I can get Colonel Hawkeye to give me the paperwork."

The man sighed, but finally nodded. "Alright," he replied. "If... if you can do it. I don't doubt you, Ed." How could he not? After all the things the younger alchemist had done for him... He knew Ed was going to do this as well.

/"Isn't someone missing?"/

And Edward had kept his word. During the next few days he worked constantly, striving to one goal. Rose and Aru would watch sometimes, keep a guard schedule, because Ed was actually forgetting to eat, he was working so hard. And as he signed the final form, wrote the last letter, he grinned. Because he was done, and in just a few hours Roy would be free.

He stood, hurried to the prison office to hand in the forms. After fifteen minutes of anxious waiting (in which the blonde fidgeted so much the receptionist told him to calm down), a guard came, toting a length of chain. The chain was attached to Roy's shackles, which were around his wrists. His head was down, and Edward rushed over. Roy lifted his head, and Ed gave a relieved sigh: The strong, dependable, downright wonderful (dare he say... sexy as _fuck_?) man everyone loved so much... He'd been returned. And Edward could see that despite his scrawniness and the loneliness he'd endured for a year, that Roy was going to be alright. And Roy obviously knew it as well.

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We couldn't come up with something witty for the end. xD


End file.
